Kai Alexis Smith is the 2015 recipient of the New Members Round Table (NMRT) Shirley Olofson Memorial Award. This award, named in honor of the late NMRT President Shirley Olofson, is given annually to defray the costs of attending the ALA Annual Conference. Criteria for the award include membership in ALA and NMRT, promise or activity in the area of professional development, and financial need.
Kai Alexis Smith is the Librarian-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. She earned her MSLIS from Pratt Institute (New York, NY) and her BFA in Writing for Publication at Pratt Institute (New York, NY). Current leadership roles in library professional organizations include chair of the Diversity Committee of Art Library Society of North America (ARLIS/NA), liaison to the Black Caucus of ALA on Diversity Council, and a member of the ACRL/Arts Conference Programing Committee San Francisco 2015 and the Digital Technologies and the Arts Committee. Kai is also active in ALA, and NMRT, and is currently serving as NMRT’s Liaison to Library Information Technology Association (LITA). She will receive $1,000 to attend the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA.
The committee would like to thank all who applied for this year’s Shirley Olofson Memorial Award. Further information about this award, including past recipients, can be found at the NMRT Awards, Grants & Scholarships page.
Please join us in congratulating Kai Alexis Smith!
NMRT Shirley Olofson Memorial Award Committee
Rachel Jaffe, chair
Elizabeth Lieutenant
Sophie Rondeau
Jenny Stout
Maurini Strub
Samuel Suber
Lois Wilkins